Top news stories from AMA Morning Rounds®: Week of April 15, 2024

Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of April 15, 2024–April 19, 2024.

Bloomberg Law (4/18, Lopez, Phengsitthy, Subscription Publication) reports, “The drug industry and health providers are divided over a freshly revised review process for resolving price fights after years of back-and-forth between presidential administrations and federal courts.” On Thursday, HHS “announced a final rule that updates the administrative dispute resolution process for drugmakers and health providers participating in the federal 340B drug discount program.” The department “positioned its effort as a way to make the 340B dispute resolution process more accessible for smaller organizations with limited means.” It “said the prior process resulted in delays and complications. Strict procedural requirements were also eliminated under the new rule.”

Healthcare IT News (4/17, Fox) says, “Health care is the industry that’s most likely to self-assess as having ‘very mature security,’ according to a new cyber readiness report from Kroll.” However, “it’s also one of the most-breached sectors – topping the list in 2022 and coming in second this past year.” This “discrepancy can be traced to many factors – not least the fact that health care organizations have long been among the top targets of cybercriminals and bad actors.” However, “it also reflects some unique factors related to how health systems approach and assess their own cybersecurity readiness, according to the new research from the advisory firm, which looks at detection and response capabilities, threat intelligence, offensive security and other factors in health care.”

The Washington Post (4/16, Bellware) reports the FDA issued a “counterfeit alert Tuesday [which] comes on the heels of the” CDC “announcing a multistate investigation into reported illnesses across nine states from patients given Botox injections in nonmedical settings or from untrained or unlicensed practitioners.” Those affected, “all women ranging from their mid-20s to late 50s, had in all but one case received Botox for cosmetic purposes, the CDC said.”

CBS News (4/16, Gibson) reports that along with the CDC, “the FDA is working with Botox manufacturer AbbVie to identify, investigate and remove suspected counterfeit Botox products found in the U.S.” Right now, “there’s nothing to indicate the illnesses are linked to the company’s FDA-approved Botox, with the genuine product safe and effective for its approved uses, the FDA noted.”

The AP (4/15, Sanders) reports, “A majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep, according to a new poll” from Gallup. The survey “asked respondents to report how many hours of sleep they usually get per night: Only 26% said they got eight or more hours, which is around the amount that sleep experts say is recommended for health and mental well-being.” Meanwhile, 53% “reported getting six to seven hours. And 20% said they got five hours or less.”

The Hill (4/15, Fortinsky) reports, “A majority of Americans, 57%, say they would feel better if they got more sleep, compared to just 42% who say they get as much sleep as they need, according to” the poll. This “marked the first time since Gallup began asking this question in 2001 that a minority of respondents reported getting enough sleep. The last time the poll was conducted, in 2013, the numbers were nearly reversed: 56% said they got as much sleep as they needed, compared to 43% who said they would feel better if they got more sleep.”

CNN (4/12, LaMotte) reported, “The number of women ages 40 to 64 seen at a hospital because of alcohol misuse nearly doubled during the pandemic, according to a new study” published in JAMA Health Forum. For 10 “months between April 2020 and September 2021, complications of alcohol-related disease rose by 33% to 56% among middle-aged women compared with pre-pandemic times, said” researchers.

The New York Times (4/12, Blum) reported, “The study looked at serious health issues related to drinking, including alcohol-related liver and heart disease, inflammation of the stomach lining that led to bleeding, pancreatitis, alcohol-related mood disorders and withdrawal.”

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